Hunted
by maxridelovr1995
Summary: Max is in Danger. She leaves her life as a Famous singer/actress to hide from her evil father in a small town in New England. There, she meets Fang and other friends. Max/Fang, Iggy/OC WAY OOC! Disclaimer: I do not own MR
1. Chapter 1

I woke up to my mom shaking me. "Max, c'mon, this is important."

I groaned and looked at me alarm clock. "Mom, its 12:30 in the morning!"

"Maximum! Your father is sending someone after you."

That definitely got me up. My dad hated me from the day my mom left him. He said I was the reason she left. Now, I was famous. I was the actress/singer/guitar and bass player/black belt/baseball player, Maximum Ride. Now, my dad was after me. And he wouldn't stop until I was dead.

I bolted upright. "What?"

"C'mon. We're moving you to live with a friend of mine. You're going to Keene, New Hampshire. Right now, we need to get you in you private jet." she told me.

"Since when do I have a private jet?" I asked.

"Since now! Come on!"

I jumped up, pulled on some jeans, changed into a t-shirt and grabbed my wallet.

Mom held out her hand. "Credit cards?"

I put them all in her hand and she gave me a HUGE wad of cash. "There's more where you're going. I've been keeping a lot there just in case. Now come on."

She drove me to the airport and I got on the jet. "Goodbye, Maximum. I'll see you when you are safe."

I wiped away my tears. Mom needed me to be strong, "Bye, Mom."

**~Hours later~**

I got off the jet and saw someone with a sign that said 'MR,' probably me. I went up to the guy. He looked at me then gave me a big hoodie. "Put the hood up."

I Put it on and did as I was told. He led me outside and to a car with dark windows. Mercedes, I believe. He opened the passenger side door for me and I got in. He then went around and got in before starting the car. "Miss Ride, I am Erik. I will be posing as your adoptive father. Your name is now Alexis or Lexi Gegy. **(Pronounced Gee gee) **I am Erik Terilliance and my wife is Shayla Terilliance. She is not actually my wife, but it is part of the story. You were abandoned by your parents and have been in foster care all your life. You will be going to Keene Middle School, eighth grade, and you are from Harrison, Ohio."

"O-okay." I whispered.

He looked at me. "Hey. I know it's hard. But when the police find your dad, you'll be safe and you can go back to LA."

I nodded. We were in Connecticut and had to travel quite a bit before we were in Keene. As we passed the sign that said 'Welcome to New Hampshire' Erik said, "Oh! I almost forgot!" then reached into the back seat and gave me a bag.

I looked into it. There were some green colored contacts and black hair dye. "I'm sorry, Max, but no one can know who you are."

I nodded in understanding. A little bit later, we were pulling into the driveway of a small house. It was brick on the bottom part and white on the top. There were two porches and the windows had blue shutters. There was still a bit of snow on the ground, though it was late April.

"C'mon, Lexi. I'll show you your room. The closet has what your mom said you like to wear when you aren't on stage." I nodded and followed him. It would be hard getting used to people calling me Lexi. **(A/N: if you're one of my friends who has been in my house, you can skip the descriptions) **He took me inside and I saw a kitchen on one side and a dining room on the other. The kitchen had a stainless steel fridge and an awesome gas stove. There were purple granite countertops and above the stove was a nice microwave. I completely LOVED the kitchen!

Erik laughed. "Your mom told me you liked to cook. You can cook whatever, here. Fully stocked fridge. The basement has another fridge and many game consoles. He pointed down the hall and into a room that's the office. He led me through the dining room and I saw a nice living room with two comfy-looking couches. He led me up the stairs that separated the dining and living rooms and showed me this HUGE bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and shower. The room that was right outside that was the master bedroom where Shayla slept and a little bit away from was the guest room where Erik slept. Right by that was my room. It was medium-sized and a light blue. There was a giant queen sized bed that looked like heaven. I took the hair dye out of the bag.

"I'm gonna go dye my hair." I told him. He just nodded and I went to the bathroom.

**~skipping this part 'cause I've never dyed my hair~**

After taking a long, steaming hot shower, I wrapped a towel around me and walked to my new room. I opened the closet door and saw a lot of comfortable pants and t-shirts. I pulled on a plain bright blue tee and some gray sweatpants. When I opened my door back up, I smelled bacon and burgers. Yum. I went down stairs and there was a kind looking lady putting bacon cheeseburgers on plates. After a minute she looked up and smiled.

"Hi, you must be Max, err, Lexi, I'm Shayla. You like bacon cheeseburgers?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah," I replied, "I love 'em."

She handed me a plate. "There are mashed potatoes on the counter behind me."

I got some then sat at the dining room table and ate quietly. When I was done, I put the plate in the sink and headed upstairs. "Wait, Lexi!" I heard Shayla call from the couch. I went back down.

She patted the seat next to her so I went and sat down.

"Tomorrow you are starting school, here. I know you'll make friends and you'll be fine. Here's a cell phone, but you can't contact anyone from LA. You can't e-mail ANYTHING. I'm sorry. My and Erik's numbers are already in there. You can call any friends you meet at school or anything. Unlimited texting. Tomorrow, and the rest of the week I can drive you to school, but after that I'll be at work and you'll have to walk."

I nodded. "I understand." I took the phone and went to my room. I sat in my window seat with my head resting against the window and thought about everything that was happening. I missed my mom. I was crying freely, not caring who saw. It was around 8 at night and it was already getting dark. I knew I was on the verge of sleep, but I couldn't bring myself to move to my bed.

BANG!

I jumped about a foot in the air. Something had just hit the window. I looked down and there was a guy, about my age, looking up at me. He threw something again. I opened the window.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He smirked. "I'm Fang. You're new. Never seen you around before."

"Yeah, I just moved. I'm M- Lexi!"

"Nice to meet you M-Lexi. Are you sure that's your name?"

"I'm Lexi. Lexi Gegy."

"So why did you come here?"

"The Terilliances adopted me. I've been in foster care all my life."

"You going to the middle school, here?"

"Yeah. Eighth. You?"

"Same."

"So why exactly did you throw something at my window?" I asked him.

"Well, sleeping against a window doesn't seem so comfortable. So, I thought I'd wake you up so your neck didn't hurt like hell for your first day here."

I laughed. "Well, thanks. I'm really tired, though. See you at school tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah. See you then." He waved and walked away. I closed the window and went to bed, smiling.

*******************

I woke up refreshed and ready for my first day. I changed into gray skinny jeans and a really light gray Pink Floyd baby tee. I put in my green contacts and put on black eyeliner. I always wore eyeliner when I was pretending to be a normal girl. I went to the bathroom and brushed my now black hair. I looked at my self. It wasn't enough. Big fans could still tell it was me. Thank god Fang had been so far away last night. I took some scissors and cut about 4 inches off my hair and cut side bangs. They ended up looking pretty good.

I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. I poured myself some Applejacks.

Shayla came down and looked at me. "You look completely different, Lexi. Erik is at work already. You ready for school?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

She handed me a backpack and gestured me outside. She showed me the way I would walk next week and dropped me off in front of the school. "Have a good day, sweetie." I nodded and got out.

The crosswalk lady stopped the cars for me to pass. As I crossed the street, I said to her, "Thank you, have a good day."

She smiled at me. "You're welcome. You too."

I walked across the parking lot and into the school. The lady looked up at me. "Hi, I'm Lexi Gegy. I'm new here." I told her.

"Oh! Yes, come on in." I went in and wasn't sure where to go next. Soon enough, an old, but not like ancient old, woman came up.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Frazier. The school principle. Here's your schedule and I'll show you to your homeroom."

I nodded and followed her up a whole bunch of stairs before stopping at a door. She brought me in and brought me to the teacher.

"Lexi, this is Mrs. Wilson-Tucker. Have a good day." she left and I was the only one in the room.

"Hi, Lexi. I'll be your homeroom and reading teacher. We don't have any spare lockers at this time, so you will have to keep your stuff here." I nodded. "You can sit anywhere. The rest should be here soon." I sat in the back at one of the desks and put my stuff down.

After a minute or so, people did come in and most of them gave me weird looks. I took out my schedule and looked at my classes. First, I had computers, then P.E. then English, Science, Reading, Social Studies, Lunch, Math and finally Focus Study Group, Whatever that was.

"Oh and Lexi," Mrs. Wilson-Tucker called, "They gave you all your classes with one of the students in my homeroom. She isn't here yet, but you'll like her. Everyone does."

"Okay."

I looked at the clock. It was 7:49. One minute till bell. Would she be here?

Just as the bell rang, a girl rushed in. "I'm here, Mrs. WT!"

"Alright."

She smiled and headed towards the back of the classroom. She gave me a funny look and sat next to me. "Hi! I'm Sarah. You must be the new girl."

I smiled at her, because she had the decency to talk to me.

"Yeah, I'm Lexi."

Sarah was wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a baggy black sweatshirt. She also was wearing a lot of eyeliner along with black flats. She was pale, about 5'6" with a kind smile and wide brown eyes. I could tell she was pretty cool. She had a stack of stuff in front of her. A binder, a green folder and a notebook labeled Poetry.

"So, the school made sure we had all the same classes, so I'm gonna show you around and everything."

"Oh. So _that's_ why you're talking to me. You have to show me around," I said.

"Oh, I would have talked to you anyway. I always give an effort to keep new people away from the people who are just looking for more people to admire them."

I smiled. "Well, thank you."

"No problem. My pleasure. I'll warn you, a _lot_ of people are going to come up to you, and only some of them will be sincere," She said seriously.

I nodded.

"Meg! Stop talking and listen to the announcements!" Mrs. WT commanded.

"Are we supposed to be quiet?" I asked.

She shrugged. "_I _never get in trouble. Teachers love me." I laughed. "I'm gonna have to introduce you to my friends. They might scare you at first, but they're pretty cool. They're the most loyal friends you could ask for. I'm so thankful for them."

"Why would they scare me?"

"Well… they are a bit…odd. And loud. And just plain crazy."

I laughed. "Sounds cool."

"ALEX! STOP THROWING THINGS! ISAIAH! YOU TOO! JASPER!" Mrs. WT yelled.

Sarah smiled. "They're always like this. You get used to it. Just wait till Sam's here. He doesn't get involved as much, but it seems like it's always worse when he's here." Did I imagine that flash of sadness when she mentioned him?

"Are they some of the insincere ones?"

"Well, Sam's pretty cool, but the others, they probably won't talk to you if you aren't popular."

This was so much to take in. I hadn't been normal in so long.

"OUT!"

We got up and headed towards the door. We waited against the brick wall for a little bit before two girls and a guy came up.

"Lexi, this is Alicja, Kayla, and Marcus. They are some of my best friends." We continued to stay there for a little bit longer until another two guys and two more girls came. "Lexi, Peter, Noah, Caitlin, and Livi. Now we got to get to class." As we were leaving, another guy came up and gave Sarah and Alicja high-fives before leaving. "That was Kevin. He's pretty cool. A lot of people don't like him because he's bi."

We headed down some stairs and we met up with two _more_ girls. "This is Kelsey and Quincy, the last ones on our journey." We then continued down the stairs where Alicja broke away from us to go in another direction and we went in the other. We went down a couple hallways until Caitlin went in a classroom and we went only a bit further and into a room filled with computers.

Sarah walked me up to the teacher. "Mrs. Frankel, this is a new student, Lexi. I'm told she needs to stay with me so she needs to work with me."

"Alright go ahead girls." She brought me to her seat and gave me the extra chair.

She logged in and opened a file. She added my name to where it said hers and saved it before exiting out of it. "Oh hey look we're done." she said, grinning at me. She opened the internet and immediately I saw the ad.

'Maximum Ride: Dropped off the face of the earth? The multitalented girl is no where to be seen.'

"Oh my God." Sarah said. "I wonder what happened to her." She actually seemed concerned.

"What happened to whom?" Quincy asked.

"Max Ride. She disappeared."

"What? Does that mean no CD?" she asked.

"Probably." She turned in her seat. "Livi!" The girl looked up. "Maximum Ride is missing."

"What?! That's terrible!"

"Yeah, she just disappeared." Sarah looked really worried for Max's (my) sake. She doesn't even know me, yet she's still really scared. I decided I really wanted to distract her.

"Hey, Sarah. Do you know a Fang that goes here?"

"Lexi, _every_one knows a Fang that goes here. He's the guy every girl likes. I've never met him, though. He keeps to himself. Doesn't really interact with anyone."

"Really?" I asked, disbelieving in my tone.

"Yeah. Wait. How do _you _know him??" she asked.

"Well, I kinda met him last night."

"WHAT?!?!" She said, very loudly, I might add. Mrs. Frankel looked up and Sarah smiled innocently.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Frankel. I thought I saw a spider," she said, widening her eyes and looking ashamed.

"Oh, that's quite alright, dear. I dislike spiders, too."

Sarah rolled her eyes and smiled at the (very badly dressed) teacher.

She turned to me. "Now what's this about you meeting Fang last night?" she asked, dead serious. The people right around us stopped typing to look at me.

"He saw me falling asleep against my window and threw a rock or something at it. We talked for a little bit. It was nothing, really." I said. The others turned around. She went to the search bar and typed, 'you WILL tell me.'

I blushed and looked down. She then just went onto some typing site we had to do and I sat there, watching.

A little bit later I heard someone calls my name. Well, my alias. I turned to see Livi. "Lexi, come here!"

I looked at Sarah. "Don't just look at me; she's your friend now, too."

I went over to her, and felt a bit uncomfortable. Sarah was the only one I really trusted so far.

"First, I want to show you this epic picture, right here." She gestured to a picture on her computer and it said, 'You just lost the Game.'

"Sorry, chica. I won the game a long time ago."

"Aww. You too? So did Sarah and Alicja. Anyway, also, I wanted you to meet Sam." She gestured to a really tall guy. This kind of confused me. Why didn't Sarah introduce me to him? She introduced me to the rest of the people. Why not him, the one she said was pretty cool in homeroom.

"Hello." I said quietly.

"Hey!" he said. I went back over to Sarah. I was much more comfortable there.

"You meet Sam?" she asked tensely.

"Yeah, do you not like him or something? Didn't you say in homeroom that he was pretty cool?"

"I like him well enough."

"What happened? I asked

"Eh. We went out. Didn't end how I thought it should have."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. It's almost time to go." She logged out. "Now. We get to go experience the _joys_ of gym class. How are you at floor hockey?"

"Umm…I've never played."

"Well then…good luck." We waited for the rest of the group and left.

We went to the girl's locker rooms where Alicja was waiting. She had also taken out Livi's and Sarah's clothes. Alicja looked at me.

"Your pants, my shirt?" she asked Sarah. She just nodded and capris and a baggy t-shirt were thrown at me.

Sarah laughed and I fumbled for the clothes. "You're almost as bad as Ali, here. Almost." Alicja glowered at her. I quickly changed and we all headed out into the gym. Mr. Tiani did attendance and had us practice passing. I was okay, I guess.

After gym I had quickly changed and Sarah brought me to English, then science, then reading, then social studies. Then we went to lunch and there wasn't enough room for everyone. I was being a burden.

"Lexi, we'll just move its fine." Sarah insisted.

I opened my mouth to protest and then Alicja and Sarah's eyes widened. I turned and saw Fang along with another guy.

He smirked at me. "You want to sit with us? Plenty of room for you, and _one _other person."

I looked at Sarah hopefully. She was still the one I trusted most.

"Oh, fine. C'mon." she sighed jokingly. I smiled at her as we followed Fang and the other guy to an empty table. Sarah was across from me next to the other guy and Fang was by me.

"So, M-Lexi. This is Iggy. And it's nice to meet you, Sarah."

"Mmhmm. Ditto," she mumbled, eating the first of her three boxes of raisins. I laughed at her. "Like raisins, much?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "Mmhmm!" and then she just went back to eating them. I saw Iggy lean in and whisper something in her ear and she blushed, still eating.

"So how's your first day?" Fang asked me.

"Pretty good, as far as first days go. I've met some pretty cool people. Oh, and you too." I added jokingly.

He made a face at me. "Oh, I'm not cool, huh?"

"Nope!" I popped the 'P'

"You didn't seem this cheerful last night."

"Well, I was half asleep, plus the fact you scared me half to death."

"True, true." He admitted.

Someone came on the speakers and announced that students could, 'Go on up for snack.'

"Be right back." Sarah told me.

"Me too." Iggy added and they went towards the lunch line.

"So Lexi, tell me a bit more about yourself."

I shrugged. "Foster care all my life, not much to tell."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green, you?"

"Black."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well," he started, "without black, you can't see the colors."

I thought about that. "Wow. I've never thought about that before."

He smirked. "Most people wouldn't. I think a little differently."

I smiled.

"What you smiling about, chica?" I jumped as Sarah sat back down with an ice cream and Iggy sat next to her.

"Jesus, Sarah."

"What?" She asked innocently. I almost fell for it. Almost.

"You know perfectly well, _what_."

"Yeah." She said, shrugging and breaking a piece of her ice cream bar off for me.

"Danke."

"You know what that means?" She asked, shocked.

"Yeah, thank you. German." Germany was my favorite place to tour. I loved Berlin.

She looked impressed. "Well, then. Gern Geschehen."

"English? _Please?_" Iggy asked.

I laughed. "Sorry, Iggy."

"So, M-Lexi. What class do you have next?" Fang asked me.

"Math. I hate math," I sighed.

"Well, at least you have it with people you know. I have it too."

I smiled. "Cool."

"Yeah, he and Iggy and Alicja and Caitlin, plus Zoey, who you'll meet." Sarah added in. "Oh and he's in our Focus Study."

"You say that like it a bad thing!" Fang accused. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. I'm just stating a fact." She looked at him with her puppy-dog, please-please-believe-me eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. The only puppy dog eyes I fall for is my little sister's." Sarah's bottom lip quivered. "Oh, fine! Just stop! Please!"

She smiled. "Every time! I love my superpowers!" Fang glared at her.

"Alright! Go to your next class!" someone on the microphone said.

I got up and grabbed my binders. "Wait a second Lexi; we gotta wait for our people."

Fang looked at me. "See you in there."

The minute he left, some girl came up to me. "Hi! I'm Hannah! I hear you have math next? Me too, let's walk there together!"

Sarah widened her eyes at me. "Sorry, Hannah? Was it? I'm gonna be walking there with my _friends_."

"Are you saying we can't be friends?" She glared at me. "Because I know some people who can make sure you're not so pretty by morning."

I smirked down at her. "You can go ahead and send them. I'm a black belt. They couldn't even mess up my hair."

"Yeah right. Lie, much?" she shoved me and walked away.

"Umm… Lexi, do you really have a black belt?" Sarah asked.

"Mmhmm. I got it two years ago." I replied casually.

We went to math and then Focus Study Group (which is just study hall) then, finally, got to go home.

I went into Mrs. WT's room and grabbed my bag. I took out my phone.

"Hey Sarah, what's your number?"

"375-4393." she told me. I put it in and saved it.

"Okay, I'll text you later."

"Alright, bye!"

I walked outside and looked for Shayla's car. Once I spotted it, I headed over.

"Hey sweetie, how was your first day?"

"It was great! I met a _lot_ of really nice people." It was really nice out. "Hey Shayla, are there any parks around here?" I asked.

"Yeah. If you'd like I could drop you off at one and you could walk home from there. You'd have to wait until three o'clock, though, because it's a school and they haven't let out yet."

I nodded. I'll probably just walk there too. Or run. Once we got home, I went to my room and changed into shorts and a purple spaghetti strap camisole. I then went back downstairs. "Where's the school? I'll just walk there."

She gave me directions and I was off. When I turned the corner I heard, "Lexi?" and looked up to see Sarah and Kayla.

"Hey guys! You live around here?"

Kayla pointed to a house. "That's mine."

"And I live around the corner but I felt like walking with Kay Kay."

"Really? I live around the corner too. I'm just going to go to the school and hang out."

"I'll come with for a bit! Bye, Kayla!"

"See ya!"

Sarah and I walked towards the school in silence. Well, for the first two minutes. "You like Fang, don't you?" Sarah asked, grinning.

I blushed. "Maybe a little. But what about you? I saw how you were looking at Iggy! _You_ like _him_!"

"Alright, maybe I do! I'll admit it!" We both laughed.

"Well, yeah I like Fang. What's not to like? He's hot, plus he's nice," I told her.

"Well, I can't very well argue with you there," she agreed.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "He's mine."

"Who's yours?" I whirled around and there was a boy, around 11-ish. "Woah. Who are _you_?" he asked.

"Brat, be nice. This is Lexi. Lexi, this is my little brother. Kev, give me the trombone." Sarah said.

"One, stop calling me a brat. Two, thanks." He said, giving her the big case in his hand.

"See you tomorrow, Lexi."

"Bye, Sarah." I smiled and she left with her brother. I turned and continued to the school.

I was looking down when someone bumped into me. "Oh! I'm sorry!" I said. I looked up to see Fang with a little girl on his shoulders. "Fang?" I asked.

"Oh, hey, Lexi. This is my sister, Angel, and my brother, Gazzy. Guys, this is my friend, Lexi. She just moved here. Be nice."

The little girl smiled at me. "Hello! You remind me of someone… someone famous…," she told me.

I laughed a bit nervously. "Sweetie, if I was famous, I wouldn't be here."

She nodded sadly. "So what are you doing over by a school, Lexi?" Fang asked me.

"It's nice out. I figured I would come and hang out for a bit," I told him honestly.

"Cool. Do you know how long you'll be here?"

I shrugged. "Two or three hours, probably."

He nodded. "I might join you. See ya."

"Bye." I sighed as I continued walking the ten feet or so until the school's field.

I saw swings at the other end, so I sprinted there. I sat down and swung. I love the swings. When you're swinging, you can just think. It's…peaceful. I missed my mom. And LA and my friends there. Why did my dad have to come in and ruin everything? It's not fair! Nothing is fair. Why did this happen to _me?_ What did I do wrong? What gives Jeb (my dad) the _right_ to hate me so much? I didn't do anything to him! So mom left him. That's because of how he treated her! He was always terrible to her, and now he blames me. Why can't everything go back to normal? I want to be in LA, talking to my mom and hanging out with my friends. I want my hair to be dirty blond, and I want everyone seeing my _brown_ eyes. Not green. And-

"Lexi? You okay?"

-I want to be far, far away from this guy I'm starting to like so much.

"Lexi, what's wrong?" I opened my eyes to see Fang. I wiped at the tears rolling down my cheeks.

"I'm fine."

"Lex. I might not have known you long, but I know that crying does not mean you are fine. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about. I'll be okay."

"Okay, I won't pry, but I do want you to know that you can talk to me. About anything."

I really wanted to tell him. I hated keeping it a secret. "I _can't_ tell you, Fang. I want to, but I can't."

"Is it you're foster parents? Do they…hurt you?" he asked, looking truly concerned.

"No! Of course not! I love my foster family. It's just that- I'm not who I have to say I am."

"So you're not Lexi Gegy? Who are you then?"

"I-I'm not allowed to tell. If I do, I'm in danger. _No one _can know. I wish I could tell you."

"So what? I'm not worthy of your trust?" He asked, sounding hurt.

"No! It's not that! I can't tell, Fang. You can guess, but I can't tell you."

"Angel was right," he murmured.

"What?"

"When she said you reminded her of someone famous, she was right. That's why you got all nervous. Before I left, she warned me that she could tell you were hiding something. Then again, she's _always_ right. I really should stop doubting that girl." He walked forward until he was right in front of me. I lowered my head. He moved it so he could see me better. "Ride," he whispered.

I pulled my head away and nodded. "You can't tell anyone. Not Angel, not Gazzy, not Iggy."

"I know. But why are you in hiding?"

"My dad. He hates me and is sending people after me. Mom sent me here to live with her friends."

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be. It's not like you even know my dad."

"Still. You need a hug?" he asked, opening his arms. I nodded and got up, stepping towards him, before tripping, sending us both to the woodchips. "Well, I was expecting a hug, not a tackle, but okay." he chuckled.

"Oh shut up! I didn't mean to!"

"Oh sure, that's what all the girls say." I stuck my tongue out at him. I went to roll off him but he held me there. I looked at him questioningly. "I'm kinda comfortable here. Why don't you stay?" I blushed. "C'mon, _Max_, stay here for a bit longer."

"Fang, you can't call me that. All it takes is one little slip and I'm either dead or being shipped somewhere new."

He brought has hand up to my cheek and looked into my eyes. "Hey, hey. You can trust me. You _won't_ regret me knowing. I swear on it."

"I do trust you, Fang."

He smiled up at me. He had loosened his grip so I rolled over and hopped up. "Hey, get back here!" he said sitting up.

"Catch me if you can, sucker!" I called, taking off. I heard him groan and I looked back to see him up and starting to run. He chased me around for quite a while before he finally caught up with me and threw me onto his back. "Fang! Put me down! Now!"

"How do I know you won't just run from me again?" he asked. He had a point, there.

"You don't. Cant you just trust me?"

He looked back and smirked at me. "Which one of you am I supposed to be trusting? _You_ or Lexi?"

"Me! Now _please_ let me down!"

"Well, since you said please." He bent and put me down before turning to me and cupping my cheek. "You're beautiful, you know that?" he whispered, almost to himself.

I blushed. "This isn't me. This is Lexi Gegy. The 'normal' girl from foster care."

"Well, your hair and eyes might belong to Lexi, but _you_ are still beautiful. You'd be beautiful no matter what form you'd be in. Black hair, blond hair. Brown eyes, green eyes. That all doesn't matter. _You're_ still _you_, and _that's_ what matters."

I grinned up at him. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you, Fang."

"No problem. Now, _Lexi_. Would you maybe like to go out sometime? Maybe for a movie?" he asked, hope shining through his dark eyes.

"I'd love too," I told him, grinning widely.

"Great. How's this Friday?" he asked.

"Sounds great."

"Do you have a facebook?"

"Lexi does not have a facebook. But I can make her one today."

"Cool. I have to change my relationship status. Because, now, I have a beautiful, beautiful, girlfriend."

"Really?! Who? Would I know her?!?" I asked, pretending to be really excited.

"No, she _just_ moved here yesterday. She has been in foster care all her life. She has black hair and green eyes. She's in two of my classes, plus lunch and the other gym class."

"Wow, she seems great. But wouldn't she be a little mad if she saw us up here, with you so close?"

"Actually, I think she would like it, though she's too stubborn to admit it. But hey. That's one of the things I like most about her."

I looked up at him, surprised. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes. She is wonderful."

I blushed and looked down. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me for the truth, sweetheart."

Just then, the sky started pouring down rain, out of nowhere. "Well, I guess that's my cue to go on home, Fang."

"I'll walk you. You live pretty close to me, anyway," he offered.

I smiled and said, "Thanks." And with that, we started on our no-so-long journey home. I was getting a little cold, since I was in a cami and shorts, but I loved the feeling of the rain against my skin. I looked up and unintentionally started humming one of my songs and twirling around. It was very cliché, but I was dancing in the rain and I loved it. _'Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.'_

I opened my eyes and saw that Fang was staring at me with a small, barely noticeable smile on his face. I blushed and looked down. He put his finger under my chin and pulled it up. I looked into his eyes. "Don't look so ashamed! That was…beautiful. There's no other way to describe it. Just… beautiful."

I blushed harder. "You're doing that on purpose!" I accused.

"What?"

"You keep making me blush! It's aggravating me!" I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm sorry, M-Lexi. I can't guarantee that it will stop, though. Now let's go. I don't want you catching pneumonia or anything." I nodded and we walked all the way to my house. He walked me up the porch and all the way to my door, then kissed my forehead. "See you tomorrow, Lexi."

"Bye, Fang." I said and he turned around and left, after glancing over his shoulder and smiling at me.

I walked inside and started up to my room. "Wait a second, Lexi." I heard. Damn.

I walked back downstairs and sat on the couch next to Shayla. "You came in with a blinding happy glow. Who is he?" she asked with a smile.

I blushed. "His name is Fang."

"And? Is he a friend, a crush, a boyfriend?"

"He just asked me out not that long ago."

"And you said yes?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Alright, you can go."

I ran upstairs and sat on my bed. Picking up the pillow, I screamed into it. I picked up my phone and scrolled down to 'Sarah' in the contacts.

**Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!**

**Sarah: WHAT?!**

**Me: Fang asked me out!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Sarah: (Duplicate) WHAT?!**

**Me: I KNOW!**

**Sarah: WHAT, WHEN, WHERE?!**

**Me: You know what, I don't know, and the movies. **

I heard a knock on the door and a second later, my door flew open. Sarah was standing there for only a second before she cam and tackled me.

"OhmyGod! OhmyGod! OhmyGod! What happened? I need _details!_"

"Okay okay! Well, when I kept on walking after you left, I ran into Fang, who had his sister, Angel on his shoulders and his brother, Gazzy, at his side. He asked what I was doing there and I told him I was going to the school to hang out. I went up there and was swinging and I started cry, thinking about how my life has been, in foster care, going from place to place. He came up and asked why I was crying so I told him. He asked if I needed a hug so I got up and tripped, falling on top of him. I tried to get up, but he put his arms around me and said 'I'm kinda comfortable, why don't you stay here?' Eventually, he let go and I got up and ran. He chased me and slung me on his back. He let me down after awhile and said I was beautiful. I told him I wasn't and he asked me out. Then it started pouring rain."

"AWWW!!!!" she cooed. I flipped her off. "Do you have a facebook? I couldn't find you on there."

"I'm about to make one. Fang asked me the same thing. Said he wanted to change his relationship status."

"AWWW!!!!" she repeated. I repeated my previous gesture.

"Lexi!" Shayla yelled. I ran downstairs. She grinned. "Look what just came for you!" she held up a Dell box.

"No way! THANK YOU, SHAYLA!!!!" I hugged her.

"There's a camera in your desk upstairs."

We sprinted up and opened the box. I took out the brand new shiny purple laptop. Sarah got out the charger and plugged in into the wall. I plugged it in and pushed the on button. Sarah went to my desk and took out a camera box. She ripped it open.

"I wish my parents would get me this kind of stuff!" She turned on the camera. "Smile!" I looked up and smiled as she took the picture. "Damn. You're really photogenic! Not fair! The camera hates me!"

"I'm sure that's not true. Here, come sit." She came over and I took the camera. I held it above us and pressed the button. As I looked at it, I saw that she actually did look _really_ good in the picture. Just as good as me. And I'm a professional! "You think the camera hates you?! You look frickin' hot in this!" I showed her.

"I think you're looking at the wrong one, there, Lexi. _You're _the one that looks hot! I look like the girl that is trying to be you! I mean, besides the tan, we do look a lot alike. Except you're a lot prettier, too."

"Wow. We do look a like. But the _only _difference is the tan. You're just as pretty as me. If not prettier than me."

I went on the internet and started to make a facebook for 'Lexi.' When I got to the profile picture part, I uploaded the one of me and Sarah. "Hey! I didn't say you could do that!" she said. I just grinned at her. I went to the search box and searched 'Fang.' And there was His page. No last name, just Fang. I knew it was his because the picture was of Angel and an older woman, presumably his mom. I clicked 'Send Friend Request' and searched 'Sarah Hendrickson.' I did the same thing with her. A notification popped up. 'Fang has accepted your friend request.' I grinned when a chat box popped up.

**Hey, Lexi. I see you made your fb, whats up?**

**Not much, hanging out with Sarah**

**Ah. Does she know?**

**Yup. To say she was happy for me is an under statement. She practically barged down my door.**

**Haha. I can believe that. Hey, Sarah.**

**She says hi. **

"I did not!" she yelled.

"Yes you did. I don't know what your problem with Fang is, but you don't need to be mean to him."

"I have no problem with Fang. I just don't want you to get hurt like I did."

"What happened with you and Sam?" I asked.

"He hurt me. I told my friends I was fine because most of them are friends with him. I didn't want them to know that every time they talk to him, it hurts me."

"What. Happened."

"He told me he loved me. Then, three weeks after, he broke up with me via facebook."

"WHAT THE FUCK?! THAT'S NOT RIGHT!"

BEEP!

**No, she didn't. I don't know her problem with me, but it's okay. She doesn't have to like me, or Iggy, if she doesn't want to.**

**Oh, I'm certain that she doesn't have a problem with Iggy.**

**And I'm certain Iggy doesn't have a problem with her.**

Sarah smacked me.

**Haha. Sarah just smacked me**

**And Iggy just punched me. I'm seeing a pattern, here.**

**Yeah, me too…you don't think?**

**Oh, I think.**

**Haha. That would be amazing.**

**I know, I think it should happen. **

**Me too!**

"What?! What should happen?!" Sarah yelled.

**Hmm…what's Sarah's phone ?**

"Don't you dare."

**375-4393.**

After a bit Sarah's phone rang. "Hello?" she asked hesitantly

"Sarah? It's-um-Iggy." Sarah glared at me.

"Oh, hey Iggy." Her voice was shaky.

"So what's up?"

"Not much. Just hanging out with Lexi. You?"

"Just with Fang."

"Cool."

Sarah's eyes were wide and her cheeks tinted with red.

"Ow! Fang, stop!" He whispered, then said louder, "Sarah, you wouldn't, by any chance, want to go out or anything?" She choked on her spit and I grinned. She coughed and Iggy said sadly, "Is that a no?"

I elbowed her and she came out of shock. "No! Of course not! I'd love to!"

"Great! I'll text you in a minute?"

"S-sure! Bye!"

"Bye, sweetheart."

She hung up, squealed, and hugged me. "THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!"

"Yeah, you better."

BEEP!

**Wow. That actually worked!**

**I know! AH-MAZ-ING!**

**Hell yeah!**

**Lol. **

**Yup, you want to go to the movies tomorrow, since we don't have school Friday?**

**Sure!**

**Iggy and Sarah can come, too. **

**Sweet. I'll ask her.**

I looked over and saw her texting quickly. "You texting you're lover?"

"Yes, now shut up!"

"Fine, I won't invite you!"

"Invite me where?"

"No, you want me to shut up!"

"Lexi! Tell me!"

"Fine. You want to go out with me, Fang, and Iggy tomorrow?"

"I'll have to ask, but hell yeah!"

**I'd say she wants to.**

**Cool.**

"LEXI, IS YOUR FRIEND STAYING FOR DINNER?"

I looked at her. She nodded. "YEAH, SARAH'S STAYING!"

"THEN COME EAT!"

**Dinner's here. Gtg. **

**Alright. Have a good night, Lexi. **

**Thanks Text me. 375-5475**

**Ok. Bye.**

**Bye!**

I turned off the laptop and we went downstairs. We ate pizza and went back upstairs. "Hey can I see your phone?" I asked. She nodded and handed it over. I looked through her pictures, seeing friends and who must be family. But then, I stopped at a picture of a guy that looked really familiar. "Sarah, who this?"

"Oh, that's my Uncle Jeb. He's only visited once, right before he got married. He's been looking for his daughter. Apparently his wife left him like 9 years back and he hasn't been able to see his little Maxine since. She would be about my age right now. He says his wife was a really big bitch and left him for another guy. One that was rich. But my dad says the one time he met her she was really nice, always helping out with my older cousins, who were only babies at the time. And that she was head over heels in love with Jeb. What was her name? Valerie? Something that started with Val."

Sarah. Is. My. COUSIN!

"Oh. That's too bad. But I'm gonna go take a shower and get to bed. It was a long and eventful first day."

"Alright. Night!" I walked her to the door. We hugged and she left.

"Lexi? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"No. Just my cousin."

"What do you mean?"

"Sarah is Jeb's niece."

"What? We have to get you out!"

"No, it would be too suspicious! Besides, he never visits. I'm taking a shower. Night."

"Night. By the way, Erik's already in bed, so try to be quiet."

I nodded and left. I went and took a long, long shower. By the time I was done, Shayla was sleeping, too.

My phone beeped and I jumped. It was Fang.

**Hey, Lexi. You ok? I got a bad feeling.**

**I'll be fine.**

**You want to meet so you can talk about it?**

**Sure. I need to get dressed though.**

**C'mon, you can meet me in what you're wearing**

**My birthday suit? I just got out of the shower.**

**Oh. Well then when you're done, I'll be at your porch. Your folks asleep?**

**Yeah**

**Then I'll be there. **

I dressed in sweats and a t-shirt and headed down the steps. I unlocked and opened the door slowly and there Fang was, standing, almost blending into the night. He had on black sweats and a black t-shirt. His black hair was perfect as always and his near-black eyes were boring into me. I've never seen so muck black look so…hot. Sexy. Amazing. After closing the door I went over and hugged him.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" he asked, concerned.

"Sarah is my cousin."

"There's something wrong with that?" He sounded confused.

"It's on my dad's side," I whispered. He rubbed my back.

"Does she know?"

"No. I can't tell her. I'm not sure if she would tell Jeb. She thinks he loves me."

He sat on one of the rocking chairs and sat me on his lap. He tucked me into his chest and started rocking. "It will be ok. I'll be here for you. Thick and thin. I'm falling for you Lexi. And nothing will change that."

I nodded into his chest. He pulled me back a little bit. He looked straight into my eyes. He leaned in until our lips brushed together. "I promise." he murmured before kissing me. It was just a soft kiss, but it meant a lot.

I smiled at him. "I'm falling for you, too, Fang." He grinned. Not smirked, grinned. "I should probably get back inside. Goodnight, Fang."

"Goodnight, Lexi." He kissed me again and I got off his lap. When I got in, I closed and slid down the door, grinning I couldn't believe this was happening!

* * *

As I woke up, I thought back to last night. The end was so…perfect!

"Lexi! Hurry, you'll be late for school!" I heard Shayla call. I quickly got up, brushed my hair and teeth, realized my contacts were still in, and ran downstairs, grabbing my bag. Lexi drove me. "Remember, I can't drive you next week."

I nodded, "Oh, and I have a date tonight." She nodded at that and I got out of the car. I went up to the halls where our classes were and saw Alicja.

Going up to her, I said, "Hey, Alicja." She half glared, half smiled at me. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Just-don't take Sarah away from me. Please. She's all I have," she pleaded.

"I don't want to take anyone! I'm sorry that she sat with me at lunch yesterday, and I'm sorry that it seems like I want her to myself. That's _not _my intentions. I just want to survive this school."

"I understand. Just, please, make an effort to keep me in the loop, too?"

"How's this for in the loop? I'm going out with-"

Arms wound around my waist and a silky voice whispered in my ear. "Who are you going out with?" Fang.

"Well certainly not you." I said sarcastically, looking back at him. He grinned and pecked me on the lips.

"Ugh. Please. I'm gonna barf!" Alicja said, finishing in her locker. I laughed.

"You really need to talk to Sarah."

"…Why?"

"Oh, she has some news for you. News you _really_ should know."

Her eyes widened and she went in search of her best friend.

"How did Sarah react when Iggy asked her out?" He whispered in my ear, still behind me.

"She practically had a heart attack, she was so happy and surprised. But tell your friend that she's already been hurt and that if he hurts her again, I will castrate him and cut off various parts before letting him die."

"What? Sarah's been hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Her ex told her he loved her and dumped her over facebook three weeks after."

"What the fuck kind of bastard does that?" I shrugged. "I gotta go to homeroom. See you later, babe."

I nodded and he left, and I went to my own homeroom. Sarah wasn't there yet. Of course. Alicja's probably giving her the third degree. "Hey, Lexi. How are you?" I heard someone ask and I looked up to see Sam.

"Fuck off." I said.

"What? I just asked how you were!"

"Sam. Leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone."

"Fine," he muttered, walking away.

I sat there until Sarah came in and sat beside me. I grabbed her poetry journal and looked through it. "Damn Sarah! These poems are depressing!" then, I got to the part where it was sayings rather than poems she wrote. _'Tears are for tears in the heart.' 'The sinking feeling in my chest just makes every moment I spent thinking about you worse.' 'You said you loved me. You lied.' 'Everyday I have to remind myself that you're not worth it.' 'I knew you were lying, but I trusted you anyway.' 'I believed you until you started ignoring me.' 'I know you're not worth it, but I can't help the tears that spring to my eyes every time you pass me without a second glance.' Everyday I have to stop myself from crying over who I thought you were because I know it was all just a game to you.' 'Is the only reason you went out with me so you could say you had dated every kind of girl, including the one who had kept every other guy away, for exactly this reason?' 'I don't want to be lonely no more, don't wanna have to pay for this.' 'I wish I could cry over him. That would be better than this building feeling in my chest.' 'I want to be able to just wish on a star and every thing would be okay and I could be completely over you.' 'If I know you're not worth it, why does it hurt so damn much?' 'Music is the only way I can drown out thoughts of you that keep me awake at night.' 'It seems as though I never go anywhere anymore without a shadow hanging over me, making my days a little darker and my nights a little scarier.' 'I always wondered why they relate the heart to love until I felt that sinking feeling in my chest.' 'They say hate is a strong word but they throw love around like it's nothing.' 'A girl's daddy is the only man she can trust.' 'Why is it you're in my head more now than you were when we were going out?' _and, lastly, _'My chest is sinking lower now that when we pass each other, it's as if I didn't exist. that's what has been pushing me off the cliff that is happiness.'_

"Are all these about him?" I asked. She nodded just as Mrs. WT said, 'You can leave.'

I gave her back her notebook. "Did Alicja get a hold of you?" I asked.

"Yes. And then she started screaming when I told her. I'm not sure If she was happy or upset." I shrugged.

* * *

It was lunch time again. I was sitting right next to Fang, who kept reaching over to pat my leg or play with my fingers. Every once and a while he would kiss me, and it was always when no teachers were looking. Iggy and Sarah were talking amongst themselves. Iggy whispered something to her as she put the last handful of her raisins in her mouth. She immediately spit them on to her tray and said "Alright. I'm done!" She took her tray up and a laughing Iggy followed her.

"I don't think I want to know."

"Yeah, you probably don't." Fang whispered, kissing me quickly.

"Hey! No kissing!" some teacher said to us. I looked down, blushing.

* * *

This time, after school Shayla gave Sarah a ride home too. We were talking in voices way too high to be normal about how awesome our dates would be tonight.

"Oooooh!!! Sarah might get kissed!" I said.

Her eyes widened. "Y-you think?" I grinned and nodded. "B-but- I-I've never…done that before…I don't know what it's like." She gulped.

"Oh, Sweetie, you'll be fine." Shayla said.

When we got back to the house, we ran up to my room and I started digging through my closet. I pulled out gray skinny jeans and a form-fitting black shirt and threw them at her. "What?! I can wear my own clothes!" I looked at her.

"You want to explain to your parents why you're bringing date clothes out of the house? Be cause if I recall correctly, in math you said they would not approve." She sighed and put them on the bed.

I went back to the closet and got out dark wash skinny jeans and a v-neck short sleeved black shirt.

"Alright. I'm calling my mom." Sarah took out her phone and I only heard her end of the conversation. "Hey momma. I love you!…Could I stay over at a friends tonight?…Lexi's…that's because she just moved here…right next door…we're just going to the movies and then hanging out…no, no drugs…no alcohol, either…if you don't believe me, you can come over and check on us after the movie…no, I'm not going to get pregnant…mom. Seriously, it's just a sleepover!…yeah ok. I'll call him. Bye….love you too." she sighed. "Gotta call dad." she dialed quickly. "I love you, daddy!…yes, yes I do want something!…no, nothing bad…I already asked her, she said to ask you…I want to go to the movies and sleepover with my friend…right next door…yeah, we'll have supervision…Lexi…THANKYOU! LOVE YOU!! BYE!"

"I take it he said yes?" I asked.

"Yup!" she replied cheerily. "I'm going to tell them I have a boyfriend tonight. It'll be better than if they found out later."

I nodded and closed and locked the door to change. Sarah sighed and changed, too.

"Why are we getting ready this early?"

"Because, it takes a while to look fan-fucking-tabulous, and I intend to make us both look like that. It's not like you're not nearly there, but still."

"Yeah. Like _I_ could be nearly there." she said sarcastically.

"Dude- you _are_ almost there. Ask Iggy."

"He doesn't count. He has to be nice to me. He's my boyfriend."

"I'm sorry to bring this up, but was your ex nice to you?"

"He was plenty nice! At the time."

"Sarah, you're beautiful. Get over it!

"Whatever." she murmured.

I rolled my eyes and brought her to the bathroom. Under the sink was any type of makeup you could ever imagine, and more. I got out some concealer, the straightener, and some fancy looking de-frizzing stuff. I gestured for Sarah to sit on the edge of the Jacuzzi. She did and I knelt in front of her. "Now we need to get rid of those bags," I said to her.

I took the concealer and spread a fair amount of it under her eyes. Thankfully, it was the right shade. I also put some on the very little bit of zits she had on her chin. I then took the liquid eyeliner and put in both on top and on bottom. I took some mascara and put that on, too, but just a little because she already had thick eyelashes. I decided then to use straightening balm instead of the de-frizzer. I straightened her side bang first, then the rest of her hair. I stepped back and observed her. "Perfect! You look hot, Sarah!" I exclaimed happily.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure I do." I gestured to the mirror. She got up and looked at her reflection. Her eyes widened and her hand came up to touch her face. "No fucking way."

"Way. You look hot! I'm amazing! Not that you didn't before. I didn't have to do much."

"You are amazing, Lexi. You need help with your makeup?"

"Nah. Just tell me if I start to look trampy." I put on my own concealer, which was a darker shade than the other one. I also used the liquid eyeliner and straightened my hair.

"You always have to outshine me, don't you?" Sarah asked jokingly.

"Sarah. I do not outshine you. Now c'mon. we need to figure out what movie we are going to watch. And what showing."

She nodded and followed to my room. We went onto the movie website and saw that The Bounty Hunter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, She's out of my League, Alice in Wonderland, and Shutter Island were on. "Alice In Wonderland," we both said at the same time, then grinned. I took out my phone.

**Fang, did you have a certain movie you wanted to see?**

**Nah. Why, what do you want to see?**

**Me and Sarah were thinking Alice in Wonderland. **

**That's fine. What showing?**

**6:45?**

**Sure. So how are you, Sweetheart?**

**Good. You?**

**Great, now that I'm taking to you.**

**Awww. that's sweet. Thank you.**

**: ) so we'll meet at the theaters in 15? Its already 6:15**

**Looking forward to it.**

**I'm glad. 3 **

**3 right back at you.**

**Nice. See you in 15. **

**Bye, Fang**

**Bye, sweetie.**

I sighed and collapsed back into my bed. Sarah laughed at me. "Oh you've got it _bad_ girl!" she exclaimed.

"Shut it. You'll be like this after your first kiss and you don't want me to make fun of you."

"Touché." I smiled at her and we started to go downstairs.

"Shayla, could you give us a ride to the movies?" I asked.

"Sure. Erik's working late tonight, so he won't get in till later." I nodded and we set out.

5 minutes later, me and Sarah were getting out of the car. I saw Fang and Iggy standing outside the ticket box, looking directly at us. We walked up to the guys, me a little more confident then Sarah. Fang tucked me into his side and Iggy just stared at Sarah, eyes wide. Sarah started to fidget with the hem of her shirt and Fang lifted his hand to smack the back of his head. Iggy shook his head quickly.

"You look amazing, Sarah." She smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Iggy," she said, very quietly.

"Did you warn him?" I asked Fang in a voice just above a murmur.

"Yeah. By the way, he's ready to kill her ex."

I grinned. "That's good! Very good!" Fang shook his head and laughed, bringing me into the theater and paying for four tickets. He also bought us popcorn and sodas. We sat in the back; Fang put up the armrest between us and pulled me to him. I saw Iggy and Sarah in the same position. I'd already seen the movie. Hell, I'd been at the premiere. So I just sat back and enjoyed the warm embrace of Fang. Fang kept leaning down the kiss me at random times.

* * *

We were outside the theater and waiting for Shayla while Fang and Iggy were waiting for Fang's mom. Fag was behind me with his arms around my waist. Iggy and Sarah had been walking up and down the side of the theater over and over. The next time I looked over, they were stopped and Iggy was _very_ close. Closer. Closer. Sarah looked down and said something to him. He nodded and whispered something back. Sarah nodded and said something short before turning and continuing the pacing. A car pulled up and Fang whispered 'That's my mom.'

He kissed me quickly and grabbed Iggy and got in the car. Sarah came up to me. "What the hell happened?!" I asked her.

"I couldn't do it. I couldn't even kiss him. I'm terrible. How could I ask him to wait? He should be with someone else. I'm not good enough for him."

"Sarah! Stop! What exactly was said?"

"He was getting so close. I pulled away and said 'I'm sorry. I just can't.' He nodded and said 'I hope you know I'm not like that bastard you dated before.' He was so sincere. I told him 'I know,' and walked away. What's wrong with me?!"

"Sarah, nothing's wrong with you! You were hurt! That's nothing to be sorry about. Iggy understands. He knows you may not be ready yet. And if he has a problem with that, he's not the one for you. Trust me, Sarah, you did nothing wrong!"

She nodded just as Shayla pulled up. We went to my room after we got home and I remembered that I was supposed to have met my friends for dinner and catch up after their tour. Shit. I got on my laptop and went onto . The newest blog entry said this:

_**Hey guys. I'm not in the best mood today. As I'm sure you all have heard, Maximum Ride has disappeared. She was one of my best friends, practically my sister. Max, if your reading this, Me, Jason, Zack, and even Jeff miss you and hope you're okay. Till next time, David Place**_

I smiled a bit. Even Jeff. "You've heard of Phone Calls From Home?" Sarah Asked me.

"Yeah. It's my favorite band."

"Seriously?! That's it. I know for a fact Alicja will LOVE you! I'm so calling her." she took out her phone and put it on speaker and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Hey Alicja!"

"Hey Sarah. What's up, I thought you had a date tonight?"

"I did. But anyway. You wont believe Lexi's favorite band!"

"No way. You're lying!"

"Nope! When we got back, she checked Dave's blog!"

"Shut up. Is she being serious, Lexi?!"

"Yup. I love Phone Calls From Home."

"Prove it. Names?"

"David Place, Jason Vieira, Zack Gowan, and Jeff Amadei."

"Favorite songs?"

"A Reason to Love, Coming Back to the World, Forget you, and Light the Fuse. Oh, and their Don't Matter."

"Oh. My. GOSH! This is CRAZY! Alright, I love you Lexi. Your now almost on the same level as Sarah." I laughed and turned so Sarah couldn't see the comment I was about to type and post.

_**Ohmigosh! I'M sorry your friend MAximum RIde is missing. I'M sure she's OKay. Do you know when you'll be coming anywhere near NEw HAmpshire? I hope it's soon!**_

I signed as Lexi and went to you tube. I type in Tonight I'm Over You and started it. Sarah had hung up with Alicja and was listening with me. Me and Dave had made up a secret code, just in case something happened. 'Even Jeff' meant 'we all miss you like hell' and 'if you're reading this' meant 'I know your reading this, what the hell happened?!' And if you couldn't reveal your identity, we capitalized the first two letters of what we needed the other to pay attention to. My comment read: I'm Maximum Ride, I'm okay. New Hampshire. I went on their my pace page on a different tab and checked their tour schedule. I grinned.

"Hey Sarah?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you and Alicja would want to go to a concert in Concord on tomorrow night?"

"A PCFH concert?! HELL YEAH!" she took out her phone and texted who must have been Alicja. There was immediate response. "Alicja's in. make that WAY in. so would Shayla be able to take us?"

"Let me go ask." I went downstairs. "Shayla, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

She looked up from her book. "Why?"

"Could you drive me, Alicja, and Sarah to a Phone Calls From Home concert in Concord?"

By the way her eyes showed understanding, I knew mom had told her that Dave would protect me. He was the big brother I never had and he would jump in front of a bullet to save me. "Sure. What time's the concert?"

"6:30."

"Alright. We'll leave at 4."

I ran back upstairs to Sarah. "Yes yes yes yes!"

"Alright. I'm calling Daddy." She dialed the number. "Hey daddy, I love you even more than before!…yes…just to go to a concert-a small one at that…Phone Calls From Home…yes, them…Lexi, her adoptive mom, Shayla, and Alicja…no, no dates…Concord…yes, there _is_ supervision…yup…THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! Bye!" She hung up and grinned at me. Be fore her phone beeped and she looked down. "Alicja just needs her mom to talk to Shayla and she can go."

"What are you waiting for? Call her and then we'll go downstairs and give the phone to Shayla!"

* * *

It was 3:30 on Friday. I had told Fang about our plans and he managed to convince me that he and Iggy should be there for my protection. I'm pretty sure that was the reason Shayla accepted, too. All that were going were there, at the house. Alicja had to have felt at least a little awkward, with me and Sarah both having date and her not having one. I hadn't gotten tickets. I had simply commented on Dave's blog again, this one reading 'I'll be at the concert, black hair green eyes, meet me 5:00.' Don't even ask how I got that into a casual comment. But, without fail, I knew he would do anything to meet me outside of the place where the concert was being held.

* * *

We're here! Alicja was starting to breathe heavy at the thought of being at her favorite band's concert.

Shayla had gone to the hotel we will be staying at and we were outside the place at 4:55.

"Lexi, did you get enough tickets?" Alicja asked nervously.

"What tickets?" I asked.

"You did get us tickets, right?" Sarah asked seriously.

"Nope."

"Then how are we supposed to get in?!" Iggy exclaimed.

I saw a flash of pink. "Like this. DAVE!" I yelled. He was there, in his bright pink shirt. His head whipped around. And he smiled.

"Lexi?" he asked, a deeper question in his eyes. 'Max?'

I grinned and nodded. He sprinted up to me and hugged me tight. Fang cleared his throat. Dave put me down and I turned. "Dave these are my friends: Alicja, Sarah, and Iggy, and my boyfriend, Fang."

"Boyfriend?" he asked.

"Don't you dare. You do know you are not _actually_ my brother."

He sighed. "I know." Sarah and Alicja were staring, mouths agape. "Are they okay?" he asked me.

"They'll be fine. They're just surprised they get to meet you. They're big fans."

He smiled. "Well come on. We've got some catching up to do." Dave pulled me to the entrance and told the ticket person that we were with him. He lead us backstage where the band was lounging around. "Guys, you remember Lexi."

"Hey Lexi!" they called unanimously.

"Hey guys. How goes it?"

"Pretty good, considering our little sister finally came to see us, though our _other_ little sister is now missing. Sigh. Drama." Zack said.

"I'm sorry guys."

"Lexi has a boyfriend." Dave said. That got them alert. They jumped up.

"What's his name?!"

"What's he look like?!"

"He hasn't pressured you or anything has he?!"

"GUYS! SHUT UP! His name is Fang, no he hasn't pressured me, and see for yourself." I gestured to him and they refocused their attention, glaring at Fang.

"Hurt her, you die," they all grunted. Fang just nodded tensely.

I went over to him and looked up. "Fang, calm down. These guys are my second family. They won't hurt me," I whispered. He just looked down at me and nodded, wrapping an arm around me. "Guys, these two hyperventilating girls are my friends Sarah and Alicja and the guy is Iggy, Sarah's boyfriend.

Dave gave me a questioning look and I shook my head. "Guys, could you go into the other room and get some food and drinks and stuff so we can catch up with Lexi?"

Sarah nodded and dragged Iggy and Alicja to the other room. Fang let go and started to go, too, but I grabbed his hand. "You're allowed to stay." I told him.

After the door shut, we went to the couches and sat down.

"Max, what's going on?" Dave asked in a concerned voice.

"My dad's after me. He apparently sent someone after me. Mom sent me here to live with some of her friends. Fang here figured it out, but I can't let anyone else know. Sarah actually ended up being my cousin on Jeb's side and she thinks he's desperately searching for his long lost daughter, Maxine, so if I tell her, she might think that Jeb doesn't want to hurt me and tell him. Yesterday, I checked your blog and the tour schedule and decided to come here."

"Max, it'll be okay. We've canceled the rest of the tour, since there's only two more stops. We're staying here for the next three months. We'll be here, Max. you think the people you live with will let us move in with you for that time?"

"Yeah. They know you can help protect me." He nodded and I slumped against Fang's chest. He rubbed my back.

"Max, would you feel better if we let you come up on stage with us? You can sing with us!" Jason told me, smiling.

I got and idea. "I'd rather play bass for Dave." I pouted at him.

He sighed. "Fine. You can't say I don't love you, though. And I'm introducing you as my sister. Not _like_ my sister. You are my sister tonight."

I nodded, smiling. "GUYS! YOU CAN COME BACK IN NOW!!" I yelled, and the guys winced. "Really? You should be used to this by now!" I told them. Alicja, Sarah, and Iggy came back in. "Guess who's playing bass for Dave?" I asked.

"No way! You are so lucky!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Davey? Could they come up on the stage?" I whined.

"Sure, anything for you my dear little sister. If I can announce that you have your first boyfriend."

"You are and evil, evil older brother! Fine!"

He grinned at me. "That's my job. Now we have a concert top get ready for! You play, you help set up. I followed them to the stage and helped connect the speakers and all that stuff. At 6:00 everything was set up and Dave was about to go out on stage. One of the people there gestured him out so he and the band ran to where they were supposed to be. "Hey guys! How are you tonight?" Dave yelled. There were a lot of screams. There couldn't have been more than 400 people there. "Well, tonight, there's going to be a special appearance. Please welcome, my sister, Lexi!" he yelled and I went out, too. "She managed to get me to let her play the bass tonight. But it's a special night for her. I mean, her first boyfriend is here, too, along with three more of her friends. C'mon out, guys." Fang stood by me and Sarah, Iggy, and Alicja were further back on the stage, with more stage fright than us. "Aren't these two so cute together?" he gestured to us and I glared at him.

Just then, I chant went up in the crowd, no doubt Jeff secretly got them started. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" I blushed but Fang just swooped down and gave me a peck.

* * *

We were backstage after the concert and Sarah and Alicja had finally stopped thinking they were dreaming.

"WOAH!!!!! I'M COMING BACK TO THE WORLD, I, I'LL START IT OVER AGAIN, WOAH FALLING DOWN BY THE WAYSIDE, I'LL GET UP AND SING IT AGAIN!!!!!!" Me, Alicja, and Sarah yelled before bursting into giggles. I was wedged in between Dave and Fang. On the other side of Fang was Iggy, then Sarah, then Alicja. By Dave was Jason, then Zack, then Jeff. Dave was rolling his eyes, Fang was almost completely passive, save the small smile curving up the side of his lips. Every one else was laughing at us.

Sarah's phone started ringing and she took it out. She made a confused face at the caller ID. "It's Uncle Jeb."


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap! I did NOT expect this story to be so popular!!! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad, but GEEZ!!! **

**This chapter will not be as long as the last one, considering it was a side story for about a month. Enjoy!!!!**

**~Jessi Raine. **

The whole room froze. Alicja and Iggy had no idea what was going on, but everyone else was starting to worry. Did he catch on?

"Hello?…Hey uncle Jeb…why are you calling?…oh I'm sorry to hear that…just at a concert with some friends…Phone Calls From Home…" Oh Gosh. She cant give out too much information. "I've known them for about a year know, how do you know about them?…"

Fang bit his lip then said, "Iggy, get your girlfriend off the phone. Please?"

"Jeb, I've gotta go…yeah love you too. Bye." She looked up at me. "Well that was odd."

I nodded and Dave and the others seemed to relax. I decided to text Shayla and tell her about the new occupants for the next two months.

**Hey, Shayla. Dave and the rest of the band are gonna stay with us. For protection, you know?**

**Yeah, sure sweetie. **

"So where are you guys going next?" Alicja asked.

"We're not." Dave shrugged.

"Huh? I thought there were two more stops on your tour?"

"There were. We canceled them. didn't expect our Lexi to find us."

"Don't I feel so damn special?" I asked jokingly.

"Language, Missy!" Jason said. I flipped him off.

"Shayla said it was fine for you to stay at our house," I told them.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH!!!!! I'M HAVING PHONE CALLS FROM HOME LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ME?!?!?!?!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Yes, Sarah. Your dreams are coming true." She stuck out her tongue at me and grinned, leaning into Iggy.

"Don't be so happy, Sarah. It hurts my self esteem." Iggy told her pouting.

"Good. You need less of it," she said, grinning at him. He just pouted at her. I looked over and saw that Alicja was looking left out.

"Alicja? Could you come here?" She gave me a weird look but complied. As soon as she was right in front of me, I pushed her forward ad to the side. She lost her balance and ended up with her head on Jason's lap and her back was across Dave's. they both smiled down at her, and she blushed crazily and scrambled to get up.

As soon as she sat down, there was a knock on the doorframe. We all looked up to see a mini-Dave looking at us with humor in his eyes. He looked about our age, and had Dave's blond hair and blue eyes. I swear, Alicja started drooling.

"Luke! You didn't tell me you were coming to the concert!" Dave exclaimed.

Realization dawned on me. This was the little cousin Dave was always talking about.

"Yeah, me and Mom just moved up here. Your mom didn't tell you? We just moved to Keene."

Alicja's eyes widened. Her face read 'Oh my fucking gosh!!! Hot guy just moved here!!!'

"No, she didn't."

"Well, I heard you have a sister. Why was my cousin hidden from me? Because I do _not_ remember her at those family dinners in Cape Cod."

"She's like the little sister I never had. This is Lexi and her friends Fang, Sarah, Iggy, and, of course, Alicja. Guys, this is my cousin, Luke." Dave introduced.

Luke looked at all of us and when he stopped at Alicja, he winked.

"Hey, Luke, good to meet you. Dave talks about you a lot. So where in Keene did you move to?" I asked.

"Jakins Street."

"Hey, that's by my house!" Alicja said.

"Sweet," he said, winking at her again.

Sarah and I looked at each other and smiled. Dave spoke. "Luke, you can take a seat anywhere. You can stay at the hotel with us tonight. And no, don't get any ideas because they are not going to be with us." Luke's smirk turned into a pout. He sat by Alicja, who was blushing a bright red.

"Hey, Luke, Alicja looks thirsty and there's some water right over there. You should do her a favor." Sarah said.

Luke's smirk was back and he leaned back with his hands behind his head. "What kind of favor?" he asked suggestively.

"HUSH HUSH!!!" Me, Alicja, and Sarah exclaimed at the same time.

Hush, Hush was a book in which the main guy, Patch, was a fallen angel and there were many innuendos that came from his mouth, exactly like that. Also, there was:

"_You smell good, too." -Patch_

"_It's called a shower. Soap. Shampoo. Hot water." -Nora_

"_Naked. I know the drill." -Patch. _

And

_"Say 'provoking again. Your mouth looks provocative when you do." - Patch_

And

_"'Killer skirt, deadly legs'" - Patch _

And

"_You can call me Patch. No really. Call me."-Patch _

And

_"When Coach asked me for my list of desired characteristics in a mate, I gave him you" -Patch_

And, of course, my favorite:

_"Do you want to possess my body?" -Nora"I want to do a lot of things to your body, but that's not one of them." - Patch _

"Seriously, though, Luke, you should hand her some water. She looks like she's gonna faint." Sarah told him. He reached over and got the water, making sure to brush her fingers and keep them there longer than necessary when giving it to her. She chugged the water, using the excuse not to look at him.

* * *

We were going home, with the band following in the van. Luke was in our car so we could drop him off with Alicja when we went. I was in the passenger seat and Fang was directly behind me. Luke and Alicja were by him, and Sarah and Iggy were in the two seats in the very back. After we dropped the first two off, we headed home.

**Alicja's POV (for a change, I'm tired of Max.)**

Me and Luke were talking quietly. I found out he has a fraternal twin brother, Danny, who he was nothing like, except the innuendos. I liked him. He was nice, but not trying to be someone he's not, and not to mention HOT!!!! Plus, he's Dave's cousin!! This whole experience has been like a dream. He lived two doors down from me, which would explain the moving trucks there recently. His dad had died a couple weeks ago and that's why they moved. When Shayla dropped us off, he had kissed my hand and left on his way.

I went into the house with a giant smile on my face. Sammy, my sister, was there, sitting on the kitchen floor.

"How was the concert?" she asked, eating a pickle.

"I met Dave Place. Again, I mean. like- we actually _talked_ for quite a while."

"Mmhmm. Sure you did. You freeze up and get all embarrassed around him."

"I was like that, for the first couple hours."

"You liar. You weren't with him for more than two minutes, at most."

"No, would you like me to prove it?"

"Yes, I would." I took out my phone and scrolled down to his name in my contacts. I showed her. "Yeah, I like that's his _real_ number."

I sighed, put it on speaker phone and hit the call button.

"Hello?" he asked. Sammy's eyes widened.

"Hey Dave."

"Hey Alicja what's up?" Sammy choked.

"My sister doesn't seem to believe that I met you."

"Umm… well you did…and if I recall correctly, I briefly met you a camp last year, too."

"Yeah, you did. Well thanks! I think she believes me now."

"No problem. Did you and Luke Get home okay?"

"Yeah, just fine."

"Okay, see you later, bye."

"Bye, Dave." I hung up. "Proof enough for you?"

She nodded distractedly. "Yeah…but who's Luke?"

"Uh…Dave's cousin…,"

"Why would you know if he got home okay?"

"He…kinda…lives…next…door?"

"Okay…whatever…bye." she got up and left me to scrimmage around in the fridge.

* * *

I was standing at the bus stop with the people that are always there and never go near me. I didn't notice the guy sneaking up behind me. I didn't notice that his twin brother was there, too. I did, however, notice when two hands started to tickle me incessantly. I squealed and turned. It was Monday, and I hadn't seen Luke at all yesterday.

"That was quite the squeal, Princess."

"Princess? What the fuck?" I asked. "I'm nothing like a princess!"

"Which is exactly why I had to call you one, Princess."

I looked over at his brother. All I could think was: Xoey would love this guy. He looked like Deidara. From Naruto. Xoey _loves_ Deidara. (Which means Banana)

He had the long blond hair with the bangs covering the right side of his face and the deep blue eyes. He looked a _lot_ less like Dave Place than Luke did.

"Alicja, this is Danny. Danny, this is Alicja."

I half smiled at him and got on the bus that had just pulled up. I sat in the seat with Morgan and the guys sat behind us. Luke tugged at my hair and I turned to him "Yeah?"

"You look good."

I blushed furiously. "Th-thanks…"

I turned back around. Morgan just stared at me.

As I walked into the school with Morgan, Danny, and Luke, I received a lot of stares. Finally, I met up with Xoey and got her attention. "Xoey, this is Danny."

"Danny?" she asked. "That looks like Deidara!" she whispered loudly.

Danny grinned at her. "Yeah, I've heard that a lot. But I've never been able to ask: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It's awesome!" she practically yelled. And them- get this- she _tackled _him!

I pressed my hand to my mouth to smother the laughs and Luke was chuckling. "He enjoyed that." He said.

I just shook my head and walked away.

**Review pwease!!! Yes, It was MUCH shorter!!**

**~Jessi Raine~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ladeedadeeda!!!! Enjoy!!! Yes, Xoey, you are the reason I updated so quickly. You guys can thank her for that. Ms. I-Love-Deidara-Pocket-Ninja herself. You're lucky I love you, Xoey. EPIC ADVENTURES!!!!**

**XOXOXOXO,**

**Jessi Raine**

**Max POV**

Today, Dave walked with me, Sarah, Fang, and Iggy to school. Why? I've got no clue. But he was there, walking with us in his epic pink shirt and slippers.

When we got there, Dave hugged me and left, walking back home. We went in and there was Alicja with Luke, rubbing her temples.

"Leesha? What's wrong?" Sarah asked. She just sighed and pointed to where Xoey had a kid tackled. The guy was smiling and looking back up at her.

"How can someone that short tackle _any_one?" I asked Sarah.

"It's best not to question it. She's a pocket ninja. And we prefer not knowing to being on her bad side." She whispered back.

I nodded and asked, "Okay, but who is that?"

Luke stepped in here. "He's my twin brother. Commonly called Deidara by fans of Naruto but his real name is Danny."

Again, I nodded. "Are you guys talking abut us?"

I jumped as Xoey appeared at my side. "Shit!" I said. Fang chuckled and pulled me to his side.

"I told you so!" Sarah said.

"Very mature."

"I know!"

Deidara-err-Danny-leaned down and whispered something in Xoey's ear. She laughed. I don't want to know.

"We should probably go up to our lockers…," Alicja said awkwardly.

"I'm in home room 347" Luke said. "You know where that is?"

"Yeah it's my homeroom too," said Alicja.

"385," Danny mentioned. Same as Xoey. You know? I think the school knows things….

They headed off in separate directions and the rest of us went up stairs to the lockers together.

**~Later that day~**

It was now after school. Me, Xoey, Alicja, Sarah, Danny, Luke, Iggy, and Fang were going to head downtown

Over the course of the day (not sure when, I suppose I completely missed it) not only did Luke ask Alicja out, but Danny also asked Xoey out. I'll give you one guess as to what both their answers were. If you guessed 'Yes' then you're wrong.

……..

They said. 'HELL FUCKING YES!!!'

So we decided we would walk around downtown for a while. We were a group of eight. Fun, right?

* * *

On the way home, Fang ended up with me on his back, Sarah was on Iggy's, Alicja was on Luke's and Xoey was on Deidara's. Ugh! I mean Danny! They look too damn alike!!

We were back in front of the school and it was about 4, time for Xoey's mom to pick her up. She got off her new boyfriend's back as to not alert her mother of her after-school activities. Luke and Dei-DANNY's parents were going to come and pick up them and Alicja up.

Once they were gone, we continued on our journey home.

**~One school-week of the same schedule later~**

GROUP DATE TONIGHT!!!! It's with the four couples. Sarah did tell her parents about Iggy and they were okay with it. They even let her come tonight! Yes!

Me, Alicja, Sarah, and Xoey were getting ready at my house. We were half actually getting ready, half goofing off and not getting anything done. My hair was straightened, as was Xoey's.

Sarah's was curled this time and so was Alicja's. They both looked really girly today. Neither of them were happy with it either.

Sarah was wearing a dark jean skirt with white leggings and a black clingy shirt. She had on a very little bit of eyeliner and she had concealer and eye shadow.

Alicja was in a lighter jean skirt with black leggings and a tight 30 Seconds to Mars t-shirt. Her makeup was made of a lot of pinks but not like overwhelming.

Xoey was in Capri's and a black tank top. She had on eyeliner and that's it in the makeup department. That's all she needed.

I had on shorts and a purple camisole. I had dark eyeliner and a bit of concealer. Shayla gave us all a ride to where the guys were meeting us, a pizza place that was supposedly really good. When we got there, they were waiting for us, with a table for eight. Iggy almost choked when he saw Sarah in a skirt. At which point, she just blushed furiously and looked down.

This time, when we were waiting for our parents to come to get us, Sarah let herself be kissed. I've got no idea wait happened with Xoey and Danny or Alicja and Luke because they both disappeared mysteriously around opposite sides of the building. INAPPROPRIATE IMAGES!!! BAD!!!!

They came back soon enough, though, and I didn't _actually_ suspect them of doing anything.

When we all went back to my house, we ran up to my room and laid on the bed. Though, Alicja and Sarah didn't stay like that for long, instead, they went and changed out of the skirts.

It turned out that I was the only one out of us that had their first kiss before tonight.

**Mystery POV**

We've got that little brat now. It didn't take long. And we even have leverage! All those people that would probably be mad at her if they found out 'Lexi' was really Maximum Ride. We may have to hurt Boss' niece, or some of the others, but we got her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Max POV**

It was about 7:00 PM on Sunday. The girls had slept over both Friday and Saturday. Alicja left early this morning to go to church, then Xoey and Sarah left at around 3. I heard a knock at the door and let Shayla get it. A minute later, she called my name, sounding a bit flustered. I frowned and ran downstairs. Sarah was standing there, crying. I ran to her and brought her upstairs.

"What's wrong, Sare?" I asked her.

"I don't know! I just can't stop crying! One minute I was goofing off with Kevin, playing Halo and I started crying! I started to think about how I never do anything right and how my parents are always mad at me about it!" She was crying onto my shoulder. "So many of my friends are just…leaving me…. I love my friends, they are all I have…am I just not worth it?"

"Sarah, of course you're worth it. Why would people leave you?"

"I don't know! But Kayla's new friends are taking all her attention and there's no room for me any more. Livi's drifting off. I have very few good friends left. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, Sarah. Nothing at all."

She nodded and when she stopped crying she looked up at me. "Anyway. I had been wondering if you would help me with something."

"What is it?"

"I want to become more confident. Do you think you could kind of… give me a makeover that will make me look more like how I really feel."

"Yeah. Sure. Can you come over to my house early tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Very early. Be warned that I shall be here as soon as my dad wakes me up.

* * *

Everyone was staring. Sarah was getting uncomfortable but I told her to suck it the hell up and be confident. Her hair was perfectly straight and her side bang was cut so it covered more of her eye. She was wearing a _lot_ of eyeliner and dark eye shadow. She also had black skinny jeans and a simple black tank top-- with two finger wide straps so she could wear it to school. She had black fingerless gloves and I had given her one of the bags I had to choose from-- a black side-bag with To Write Love On Her Arms in the bottom corner. She looked nothing like she did before. There were no baggy sweatshirts, no innocent expression. She looked how she felt-- she said so before we left. She had also told me that she was now completely over Sam. (Thank. Fucking. God!)

That's when I saw it. There was a poster stating 'Talent Show sign-up's after school in the auditorium: April 19 through 23.'

I looked at Sarah. She could sing. I knew she could. **(A/N: I really can't sing at all, but I can here, for I feel like having some kind of talent)**

We met up with our friends who gawked at Sarah. Apparently, they did not expect this of her. Just like I told her, she did not fake a smile like she usually did. As we walked up stairs (neither of us had seen Fang or Iggy yet) guys dropped their jaws, popular girls glared and our 'friends' (the ones Sarah was talking about yesterday) just looked at us, surprised. Xoey looked proud of her. Though, she didn't look long, because there was a certain boy by her that looked like a certain anime guy she liked *coughcough WAS OBSESSED WITH coughcough* who immediately regained her attention. To my utter happiness, Sarah did not blush once. She looked nervous, but never was there a hint of red on her cheeks. She walked proudly, not looking down with her shoulders hunched. She met people's eyes and didn't flinch at the glares.

When Iggy came up, she did smile, but not the innocent smile. This one had a glint of mischief…like the real Sarah.

Iggy had looked at her, done a double take and grinned. I shook my head at him and Fang came to my side. "New Sarah?" he asked in my ear.

"Yeah. I'm writing a song for her to sing in the talent show."

"That's cool. Well, we gotta get to homeroom," he said, (literally) dragging Iggy away from Sarah.

* * *

It had been a month, and thankfully nothing had happened. Sarah was just as confident as ever, and was participating in the talent show today. I had written a song for her that expressed the whole thing with Sam.

It was time. She went onto the stage, and looked straight at Sam as she sung.

(Different lyrics to 'A Little Less 16 Candles A Little More 'Touch me'' by Fall Out Boy.)

(Brackets ({}) mean what I wish to have put but it would not be able to be sung in front of the school and parentheses (( )) are where Max is singing backup, off stage.)

_I confess, I'm messed up thinking "What Happened?" like you're not a{n} jerk! {ass}And I know you're {fucked} messed up "hey boy I see right through you!"'Cause you're just the boy all the girls have dated And I'm just the girl who fell a victimI'm sleeping on my folk's porch again, dreamingI said, I said, I said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"I don't blame you for being youBut you can't blame me for hating itThey say, what are you waiting for?Dump her, dump herI'd set my clocks early 'cause I know you're always lateWrite you off, give up on youCause darling, what did I expect?You're just off a lost cause a long shot, don't even take this betYou can make all the moves, you can aim all the spotlightsGet all the texts and the words just rightI'm sleeping on my folk's porch again, dreamingI said, I said, I said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"I don't blame you for being youBut you can't blame me for hating itThey say, what are you waiting for?Dump her, dump herI'd set my clocks early 'cause I know you're always late(always on, always on)You said you'd love me always(always on, always on)But I won't call you on it(always on, always on)I don't blame you for being youBut you can't blame me for hating itThey say, what are you waiting for?Dump her, Dump herI'd set my clocks early 'cause I know you're always lateI'd set my clocks early 'cause I know you're always late_

Sarah grinned and walked off stage.

I gave her a high-five as cheers went up around the field that it was set up in. "You did amazing!" I praised. I made sure she was dressed crazily-confident today. Since she changed her clothes and how she acted, she's felt the confidence, too. She was no wearing a skirt that went to a little bit above her knees and a tight _Invader Zim_ shirt. I looked at everyone. Iggy, who was sitting two seats away from Sam, looked _pissed_ at him. What could he have done???

**Iggy's POV**

Sarah was amazing. And she told off that damned ex of hers in front of the whole school without anyone outside of her friends knowing.

The guy next to me--Max?--asked Sam, "Why was she looking at you?"

He shrugged and said, "Maybe there's an unfulfilled fantasies there."

That was it. "Nice, Sam. Go out with a girl and not even tell one of your friends. Well you know what? She's _my_ girlfriend now, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be such an ass about it. You were a fool to dump her. She's a great girl and you have no idea. So shut the _fuck_ up and stop telling lies," I growled at him. He looked shocked that I would even stand up to him like that.

"Wait you dated her?" Max asked. "And _dumped _her? That was pretty stupid of you dude. She didn't used to be like that, but now? _damn!_" **(A/N: Haha. I sound really conceited huh? Nah, I know I'm not like that, but hey! I gotta be a person in a story!)**

I growled and stalked off, Fang following--no doubt wanting to see his girlfriend, too.

As I was about to get to the stage, someone grabbed me from behind. Something cold was pressed against the side of my head, making sure I couldn't turn to look at him.

The person pushed me towards where Sarah and Lexi were. When they looked up, they gasped.

**Mystery POV**

Insolent teenagers! I was right under their noses the entire time! But they couldn't think outside the box, could they?

**ANY GUESSES AS TO WHO IT WAS?!?!?! Xoey--don't say Mystery. I SHALLN'T UPDATE UNTIL I GET SOME GUESSES!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I LOVED some of the guesses!!!! No, Shayla, it was NOT Pi. I know, you were very convinced, but no. The guesses of Sam amused me, though, considering some personal things. **

**Max POV**

As Iggy and Fang came through, I gasped. They had guns pressed to their heads. Behind Iggy was Erik **(the original one) **and behind Fang was Sam **(who I decided about five seconds ago because of the reviews. And those personal things I mentioned : )) **"Erik…why?" I asked.

He sneered at me. "I never liked you. You were just like those other pop stars. Famous, rich, and yet you did nothing about it. You didn't care about people of lesser status."

"Lexi-- what is he talking about?" Sarah asked me.

"Oh you didn't tell her! Your own cousin!" he laughed. He turned to the girl beside me. "'Lexi' here is Maximum Ride. Daughter of Jeb, your Uncle."

Sarah turned on me. "You knew? You knew and you didn't tell me?! You didn't trust me enough?" she sounded close to tears.

"Well. Now that Sarah is no longer fighting against us, there's no point in keeping you." He shoved Iggy towards my best friend--the one that hated me now. Sam, however, smirked and twisted the gun against Fang's head.

My eyes flooded with tears. "No! Let him go! I'll go with you--do what ever! Just let him go!" I pleaded.

Erik locked eyes with Sam and nodded. He sighed in discontent and pushed Fang to the ground, kicking his stomach. I walked to them, glancing back at Fang's pained expression before turning back, crying freely.

Something was pressed against my face and I quickly got dizzy before blacking out.

**Fang POV (WOOOO!!!!)**

It pained me to see her go. But I wouldn't be any help if I was trapped with her. I looked back to Sarah to see her glaring at where Max disappeared. The nerve of her!

"Sarah, stop it," I demanded. "She didn't tell you because if _your_ uncle knew, _you_ would be in danger. You think she didn't want you to know? I held her while she _cried _about it time and time again! If you blame her, you're blaming an innocent person that was caught up in things too big for her to handle. I don't think she deserves to be ignored and hated by her best friend. Now I'm going to go save the girl that has changed my life."

As I was leaving, Alicja, Luke, Xoey and Danny passed me. They gave me weird looks and then ran to the crying Sarah and the comforting Iggy by her side.

I ran to Max's house and let myself in. Shayla turned back to me, shocked. "Fang? What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Max," I said simply and as soon as the words were uttered Dave and the rest of the band ran down the stairs.

"What about Max?"

"Erik. He wasn't what we thought. He and Sam, Sarah's ex, took her. I don't know where they went but they're gone."

We ran out the door and into Shayla's van. Once we pulled out, we saw Sarah, Alicja, Xoey, Danny, and Luke running towards us. Jeff said, "I'll drive them in the van," and jumped out, ushering them toward the band's van. We didn't know where to go. We didn't know what to do. Could we find them?

**Xoey POV (don't you feel special???)**

Me and Danny were walking with Alicja and Luke to congratulate Sarah on standing up to Sam in front of the whole school even though the only people who really knew about it was me, Deid-Danny, Luke, Alicja, Fang, Iggy, Lexi, and Sam himself. The guy was just a flirt, anyway. He tried flirting with me. Three words: Not. Gonna. Happen. When we got there, Fang was leaving with a pissy expression and Iggy was comforting a crying Sarah. Lexi was no where to be seen. Here are three more words: What. The HELL?!?!?!

"What the fuck is going on?" Danny asked.

Iggy took a breath. "Lexi is Maximum Ride, who is Sarah's cousin. She's running from her dad and the only one that knew was Fang but he couldn't tell her, and now Sam and Erik just left and now Max-slash-Lexi is in trouble," he told us all in the same breath.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE STILL DOING HERE?!?!" I yelled. **(I can't imagine Xoey just standing there to take it in. she would immediately jump into action) **So, we took off running. My had was in Danny's and that was the only source of comfort I had.

**Iggy POV**

As we ran I took out my phone and called the house. My adopted sister, Nudge, was home sick.

"Hello?" she muttered into the phone.

"Oh hey, Nudge, tell mom and dad I won't be home for dinner!"

"Ugh. Iggy, what are you doing now? Shouldn't you be in school for another half hour."

"Oh, you know, the usual, saving one of my friends from being killed by her dad."

"Yeah, Igs. Sure you are. Have fun with that." The line disconnected. I knew she wouldn't believe me.

Once we were ushered into the van by that Jeff guy all we could do was wait. Danny had an arm wound tightly around Xoey, as mine was around Sarah. Alicja and Luke were in much the same position.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me," Sarah whispered.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure it was for the best."

She nodded and fell quiet. Where ever you are, we'll find you, Lexi. Max. Who ever the fuck you are.

**Max POV**

When I woke up, I was on a mattress, which was on the concrete floor. Where was I? What happened?

And then I remembered. The talent show. Iggy and Fang having guns pressed to their heads. Fang not even protesting while Sam and Erik guided me away. The chloroform. The death-like feeling.

.

..

…

….

…..

……

…….

……..

………

……….

………..

………..

…………

………..

……….

………

……..

…….

……

…..

….

…

..

.

Will any one help me? Will fang even care enough to come after me? Will Sarah forgive me? Help? Anyone? If there even is a God up there, will he help me, after all the lies?

The door was slammed open and there he was. Jeb. 'Daddy.'

He came up to me and back-handed me. "You and your mother should have known that I could find you easily. I. Have. Friends. Everywhere. Don't even try to escape. You and your stupid mother cant do anything right. You've never been able to and you, my daughter, never will be able to attempt it again. I had someone shoot Fang. And my niece? Well, let's just say that family ties won't be enough to save her."

Oh no. What have I done? I really can't do anything right. Why didn't I just give up and slit my throat when I had the chance?


	6. Chapter 6

**Indeed, it IS Cinco de Mayo, but there is a MUCH more important thing!!!! **_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEIDARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYY!!!! **_** We decorated a locker for him and everything. Lol. **

**~Jessi Raine~**

**Max POV**

I can't believe that in one day, I lost my boyfriend, all my friends, and so much trust from my best friend. And where am I now, you ask? No fucking clue. I'm in some room that is pitch black. No windows, no door that will let in the slightest bit of light. Wow. My life is a living hell.

To pass the time, I started to hum the song I wrote for Sarah. Even if I ever get out of here, I won't have her back. I'll never regain her trust. She doesn't know that I may have saved her. Though, I might have not helped her at all. Maybe I diminished our friendship for nothing. I fail as a best friend. Hell, I fail as a normal friend. I feel bad for Fang, having to put up with it.

Suddenly there was a stream of light coming from the door. It blinded me. Oh well.

"Well well well. If it isn't Maxie. The reason Valencia left me. The reason for all this. The reason I plan on honestly being able to say that I am a murderer. That I had killed my own daughter. I'm going to be able to say that I slaughtered my own flesh and blood so that I could get my revenge. By the time I leave here, all of these things will have been true. And you, Max, you will be dead and magically found by one of my people. It's insane how easy it is to come up with a plan for the death of your daughter."

Wow. I don't know how or why he could get so insane after a woman leaving him.

**Xoey's POV**

Shayla was with the band members and Fang in the van, swerving in every which direction to find Lexi. Shayla was determined, I could tell that. It was a good thing, because if she wasn't, we might never find her.

Lexi (err. Max. Whatever.) was an amazing friend. I could tell she stood up for what she believed in. she helped Sarah overcome her shyness.

I still couldn't believe that she was Maximum Ride. I don't usually listen to her genre of music, but she had amazing songs and deep lyrics. If the girls in school knew (they had started to trash talk her) who she was, they would change their opinions in the matter of seconds.

I knew my mom would worry if I wasn't home by like six, but if we hadn't found her by then, I would still be looking. I'll call her or something. If Sarah wasn't exaggerating about her mom, I knew she would **flip**. She'd probably have to call by four thirty at the latest.

We gotta find Lexi. Max. Star. Whatever you want to call it.

"ACHOO!!!" Sneezed Sarah.

"Slaughter you!" I said, not as enthusiastic as usual- for obvious reasons.

"Yeah, yeah, slaughter you too." She muttered quietly.

**Sorry Guys, short I know, but I need this published today. Night! **

**~Jessi Raine**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I haven't updated much recently. Life is crazy. The two poems in this chapter are written by yours truly. Love you guys. **

Sarah's POV

As I was trying to calm down, I saw a backpack that I had seen in Lexi-err-Max's room. "J-Jeff…is this Max's?" I asked.

He glanced back. "Yup. That's the bag she looks through when she needs inspiration. She left it in here before this whole thing happened and we just recently gave it back."

He was looking back at the road now. I grabbed the bag and started to look through it.

I saw rough drafts of her songs. I also found the two poems I had written and given to her.

_Will Not Show_

_As I lay on my bed_

_I think of my life_

_And glide the knife_

_Across my thigh_

_So no one will see_

_And they will let me be_

_Water blurs my vision_

_But I will not let out a tear_

_I will not show my fears_

And the other one was:

_To Know_

_I just want HIM to know_

_How much I hurt_

_I just want HIM to know _

_I've been acting since he left_

_I just want HER to know_

_I'm not as happy as I seem_

_I just want HER to know_

_That she doesn't know __me_

_I just want THEM to know_

_That my smiles are fake_

_I just want THEM to know_

_That I hide so much of myself._

_I want EVERYONE to know_

_That NO ONE knows me_

_I want EVERYONE to know_

_That I'll never tell HIM, HER, or THEM _

_THE TRUTH_

I can't believe that she kept these, let alone put them with her inspiration. Wow. I really was important to her. Ugh. Why did I have to leave her like that? I'm such an idiot.

I just really hope we can find her before anything terribly bad happens to her. _I am so sorry, Max. I'm so sorry that I'm such an idiot. _

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, we pulled up in front of the police station. I watched as Fang, Dave, Shayla, Jason and Zack ran into the building. We got out of the van and started towards the door, too. When we got in, we saw that the receptionist was only half-listening to Shayla's frantic voice. Finally, she got fed up with it and slammed her fist down on the desk in front of the guy's face. He looked up startled.

"YOU ARE GOING TO LISTEN TO ME! NOW!" she screamed.

Wow. I had never seen Shayla lose her temper. She was usually a bright, bubbly person. Never had she yelled.

"YOU HEARD OF MAXIMUM RIDE?" she yelled. The guy nodded quickly. "THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT! SHE WAS HIDING FROM HER HOMICIDAL FATHER! NOW HE HAS HER AND YOU NEED TO DO YOUR JOB AND FILE A REPORT!"

…Wow.

**Max POV**

Ow. What happened?

I was in a room. I don't know where, there was no window. Just a small bed that I was laying on with an old, lump

I was in a room. I don't know where, there was no window. Just a small bed that I was laying on with an old, lumpy mattress. Ugh. I'm never gonna get out of here.

I sung songs to pass the time. Why not?

"_I saw you sliding out the bar.  
_

_I saw you slipping out the back door, baby.  
_

_Don't even try and find a line this time, it's fine. Darling, you're still divine._

_You don't love me at all, but don't think that it bothers me at all.  
_

_You're a bad-hearted boy-trap, babydoll, but you're...  
_

_You're so damn hot._

_So now you're headed to your car.  
_

_You say it's dinner with your sister, sweetie.  
_

_But darling look at how you're dressed. Your best suggests  
_

_another kind of guest.  
_

_You don't love me at all, but don't think that it bothers me at all.  
_

_You're a bad-hearted boy-trap, babydoll, but you're...  
_

_You're so damn hot.  
_

_So who's this other guy you've got?  
_

_Which other rubes are riding hot-shot, sugar?  
_

_I could have swore you said before, "No more, for sure." What'd I  
_

_believe you for?  
_

_You don't love me at all, but don't think that it bothers me at all.  
_

_You're a bad-hearted boy-trap, baby doll, but you're…_

_You're so damn hot."_

Can you guess who I was thinking about for that one?

Fang, of course!

"_This is the story of a girl  
_

_Who cried a river and drowned the whole world  
_

_And while she looked so sad in photographs  
_

_I absolutely love her  
_

_When she smiles  
_

_Now how many days in a year  
_

_She woke up with hope  
_

_But she only found tears  
_

_And I can be so insincere  
_

_Making her promises never for real  
_

_As long as she stands there waiting  
_

_Wearing the holes in the soles of her shoes  
_

_Now how many days disappear  
_

_When you look in the mirror  
_

_So how do you choose  
_

_Your clothes never wear as well the next day  
_

_And your hair never falls in quite the same way  
_

_You never seem to run out of things to say  
_

_This is the story of a girl  
_

_Who cried a river and drowned the whole world  
_

_And while she looked so sad in photographs  
_

_I absolutely love her  
_

_When she smiles  
_

_Now how many lovers would stay  
_

_Just to put up with this everyday and all day  
_

_Now how did we wind up this way  
_

_Watching our mouths for the words that we say  
_

_As long as we stand here waiting  
_

_Wearing the clothes or the soles that we choose  
_

_Now how do we get there today  
_

_When we're walking too far for the price of our shoes  
_

_Your clothes never wear as well the next day  
_

_And your hair never falls in quite the same way  
_

_You never seem to run out of things to say  
_

_This is the story of a girl  
_

_Who cried a river and drowned the whole world  
_

_And while she looked so sad and lonely there  
_

_I absolutely love her  
_

_When she smiles"  
_

I hummed the guitar solo._  
_

"_Well your clothes never wear as well the next day  
_

_And your hair never falls in quite the same way  
_

_You never seem to run out of things to say  
_

_This is the story of a girl  
_

_Who cried a river and drowned the whole world  
_

_And while she looked so sad in photographs  
_

_I absolutely love her  
_

_This is the story of a girl  
_

_Whose pretty face she hid from the world  
_

_And while she looks so sad and lonely there  
_

_I absolutely love her  
_

_This is the story of a - girl  
_

_Who cried a river and drowned the whole world  
_

_And while she looked so sad in photographs  
_

_I absolutely love her  
_

_When she smiles  
_

_When she smiles!"_

There really wasn't a point to that one, I just really liked the song.


	8. Chapter 8

**FPOV (5 days later) **

So…I was a mess. I refused to go anywhere but to Shayla's. Including school, which didn't make my parents very happy, but they saw what it was doing to me, so they called me in sick, everyday. And I went to see if there was any news from Shayla or the band, everyday. And Iggy, Sarah, Xoey, Danny, Luke, and Alicja came every day, after school because their parents wouldn't let them stay home. Shayla explained things to the school and Sarah told everything to her parents.

So I was walking to Max's to see everyone. They were all outside waiting for me and motioned for me to run when they saw me. I did, thinking it was important. Once we were all inside, Shayla put something in the DVD player.

We watched as an image of Max came on. She was unconscious with her head slumped forward. I would think she was gone if I didn't see her breathing. I saw cuts all over her. Erik came into the view and yanked her hair up so her face was shown. Another man walked onto the shot. He slapped her across the face. She gasped and her eyes opened. I winced, seeing her in pain. He turned towards the camera.

"So you want Maximum back? Well that is too bad. She is _my _daughter and she is _mine._ Sarah, I know you are watching. My dear niece, Max doesn't care about you. She just simply needed people to surround herself around. She's a star-she needs attention. She wouldn't have been able to deal with not having a group around her at all times. That's how she was with Fang, too. She needed someone to love her, to hold her. She doesn't care about anyone but herself and those band members with you."

I looked to Sarah and she was crying silently. I knew it was all a trick. I knew she really did care about all of us. I knew it. Didn't I?

"Liar!" I heard her scream. "I _love_ all of my friends! And Shayla, and the band members and Fang!"

"Shut her up!" he yelled at Erik, who held a rag up to her face, and she passed back out.

"As I was saying. My daughter is not being taken from me, again. Ever. Where she's going, no one will see her alive again. She'll be with me, and only me. You can't stop me. You won't be able to."

The screen went black and Shayla rushed to get it out of the DVD player, touching as little of it as possible. Dropping it in a bag, she sighed, "Alright. I'm taking this to the police station. Feel free to hang around here. Valencia should be here soon."

She left and we all sat in silence. What the hell? How were we going to get her back?

I don't know how long it was until there was a knock at the door. Dave got up and answered it. "Hey Valencia," he mumbled, moving aside to let her in. A woman who looked like Max but with dark brown hair came in.

"Any more news?" She asked warily. She looked like a mess. I probably didn't look any better. I was in sweats and an undershirt, after all.

"They just sent a video of her. He tried to make us believe she didn't really love us. He said he wouldn't ever let her go. And…umm…," Dave trailed off.

"And what?" The lady demanded.

Dave sighed. "He said that they're taking her somewhere that no one will see her alive again. Where it will only be him and her."

"Oh god. Oh my baby! If I had checked out Erik more, this wouldn't have happened! I am at fault for all of this!"

"No you're not, Valencia! You just tried to keep her safe! It's not your fault. Jeb is to blame. Well, Jeb, Erik, Sam, and whoever else helped him. Now, would you like to meet Max's friends?"

Valencia seemed to just notice that there were other people here. "Oh! Hello there! I'm sorry for being so rude. I'm Valencia."

"You know the boys from the band. There's Sarah, Iggy, Xoey, Danny, Luke, Alicja, and this is Fang. He was Max's boyfriend."

I just kind of waved at her. I still can't completely grasp that she's gone.

I love her. I know I do.

It's not going to go away. If, heaven forbid, she doesn't come back, I know I'll never move passed it. I won't just get over her if another girl comes along. I can't stand the thought of her _not _coming home though.

She will come back.

I know she will.

She has to.

I _will_ do everything I can to get her back in my arms.

The people in the room said their hellos to Max's mom.

"Valencia?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Um…. Well. I'm sort of your niece. Err—I guess not anymore, since you're not married to Jeb anymore. But, I'm Lexi—err—Max's cousin, so I guess you kind of are still my aunt? I'm not really sure, but my dad is Jeb's brother. I really hate thinking I'm related to that creep, but I am, and I wish I wasn't. My parents really liked you when you mate them! They didn't really believe Jeb's bogus story because they thought you were too nice for that. I guess they were right, I mean, Jeb _is_ evil and all and—"

"Sweetheart, you need to breathe," Iggy cut in. I think we were all grateful for that.

Sarah stopped and looked at Valencia, Seeming nervous.

"Oh yes! Mark and Angie! I can't believe I forgot you guys lived here! You can continue calling me your aunt if you want, Sweetie. I'm glad Max had good people around her all this time."

Sarah seemed immensely relieved after that.

Everyone talked for a while, until Shayla came back.

"Hey Val! How you doing, Honey?"

"As good as can be expected, I guess."

"Well, how about I make everyone some food? How about chicken enchiladas? Yeah, those will be good and should finish around dinner time. Is everyone staying?"

"Actually, I really gotta get home before my mom flips," Alicja said sadly.

"Yeah so do I," Xoey commented.

"You need a ride? We'll take you guys, Danny, and Luke back in the van," Dave offered.

"Sounds good. Better than me having to ask Sammy for a ride. She would be blasting music and complaining that I ruined her evening."

"Alright, let's head out."

They all grabbed their stuff and left, leaving me, Sarah, Igs, and Valencia in the living room.

Sarah came over to the small couch I was on and sat next to me.

"We'll get her back, Fang."

"I know."

"I'm not so sure you do. I know you look emotionless but you're not. Everyone has emotions and yours are probably bursting to get out right now. It's not healthy to be this apathetic."

"I know that. I just—I can't."

"I know you think you have to be brave. You think that if you can stay strong that Max will be okay. But listen. Max will be okay either way. She's Max. She'll stay strong. She doesn't need you to be strong now. You need to be weak now so that you can be strong for her when she gets back. Which she will. You gotta let it out or it will all come crashing down when she needs you the most."

How does she do that? She always knows exactly what to say at the right times. She knows what will get you to open up. Her career choice of therapy was a good one.

I saw my vision blur and felt a tear rolling down my cheek. I don't remember the last time I cried. I think it was before Gazzy was born. So, 9 years, at least.

Sarah hugged me and I put my head on her shoulder.

I cried for probably 5 minutes. Not a lot, but it's progress. I saw Iggy looking concerned and proud at the same time. Probably proud of Sarah for getting me to open up.

**That's all for now! Sorry it took me forever to update. I'm a terrible person…. I'll try to do better, but no promises. Feel free to yell at me to hurry the hell up. **

**~Jessi Raine. **


End file.
